A Magnificent Fool
by Aronoded
Summary: First Tale in the I'll Fall With Your Knife Series - Haldir wasn't always the uber serious Captain of the Marchwardens. A story about the carefree days of brothers, friends, enemies, and a first love.
1. Author's Notes

Disclaimer:   
-No money is being made, I'm writing this for my enjoyment. All character's (And their world's) belong to their respected owners, and the ones that I made up belong to me. Easy enough, right?  
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Notes:   
-This is a part of a series I'll be writing called: I'll Fall With Your Knife. The title is a term of loyalty and friendship and love. You know how they say "Never run with knives because you might fall on it"? Well, this is basically saying. "You're the exception. I would fall with your knife. I would take that chance, and run with you." It's a naked phrase. A bare phrase. I think it's very endearing.  
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-This is a Het fiction. But there may be some implied slash in later chapters. If a chapter contains implied slash, or slashy actions, the chapters will state so at the top of the page.  
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Dedication:   
-Hmm. Dedication. I dedicate this to Jay Bird, because they put up with me, and make me really happy. NZ or Bust! Hurrah for hamsters, fae's and weird conversations about Hugo Weaving.  
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-And I also dedicate it to Ayden 2.0., because every demented brain has a twin, and you very well could be mine. xD Remember: The Matrix has us! "What were you doing?" Eee! Agent Brown rocks my socks!  
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Now. On to the story! ^^ 


	2. He's No Slow Elf

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A Magnificent Fool - Chapter One  
By - Aronoded  
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Haldir fancied that he and Rúmil had never hurried along as much as they were doing right now. It couldn't be helped. The creature they were running from was relentless. Stubborn. If even dangerous. It was something neither of them wanted to deal with on this day of all days.  
  
It was the first day of summer, and the first day of summer often brought about the first meeting at the swimming pond. Young elves from all over Lóthlorien migrated there to play and flirt, for two weeks of uninterrupted bonding time. No schooling, no chores; nothing but gaiety and the freedom to remain carefree without turning it off. Friends would be made, unions would begin, and hopefully they would all come out of it relaxed ready to go back to their studies and practices. But there was no time to get excited about the first day of summer....not when this problem had presented itself at first light.  
  
The uneven terrain was no problem for Haldir and Rúmil as they hurried over it, shushing, and dragging each other this way and that along their chosen path, one peering over a shoulder, just to have the other do the same when the other would look away. It was usually effective in a situation like this. With two of them, they could keep a constant eye out while the other lead.  
  
"I can't see him but I hear his big lumbering feet breaking twigs." Rúmil hisses breathlessly, a hand raised to sweep back the long loose locks of his platinum hair as he stared back over his shoulder. Haldir had a hold of his other arm, using it to guide him along as he searched for a place for them to hide, and the bag he carried kept trying to slip down to his elbow. It was most irritating.  
  
"Over here...quickly, there's a hollow behind this root. He shouldn't find us there." Haldir instructs, glancing back as he jerks Rúmil's arm to the left, shushing the barely younger elf as he makes a dissatisfied hiss, tripping slightly over his own feet when he's pulled off balance.  
  
"Watch it, would you?" Rúmil chides, cutting his brother a look before he's pushed forward to climb over the root.  
  
"Shhh! Just hurry!" Haldir groans, half bouncing on the balls of his feet as the other wiggles soundlessly over the root, and slides down to rest behind it with a soft grunt.   
  
"Come on, I'll help you. It's further then you might think." Rúmil reaches out for Haldir's hand, and the older elf scoffs and brushes it away, climbing over without aide, before landing a little less gracefully as he almost falls when he sinks some in the thick mulch of gathered fallen leaves.  
  
"Elbereth." He hisses, after regaining his footing, testing the cushioned earth further with the toe of his suede boot, as he lets his own bag slide from his shoulder to rest beside him. God's how he hated when Rúmil was right.  
  
"I told you." Rúmil smirks.  
  
"Oh, shut -"  
  
"You guys? You guys? Where are you? I know I saw you coming this way. Come on! That's not fair, you said I could go!"  
  
The 'Beast'.  
  
Both sets of light blue eyes widen at the declaration, both sets of pouty lips making a perfect "O", before they were spurned into action. Both of them were shushing each other, their straight backs pressing firmly against the smooth gray bark behind them.  
  
"Hurry, shhhh duck..."   
  
"Shhhh, You duck. I'm ducking!"  
  
"Shhhhh"  
  
"Shhhhhhhh!"  
  
The elf that wandered gracelessly along the descending path was no more then 24 years old, tall and lovely to behold with his silvery hair and cobalt blue eyes. There was no mistaking who it was. Even if the elves he was looking for weren't his older brothers, one would know.  
  
"Did you tell Orophin he could come with us?" Haldir hisses, ducking down behind the raised mallorn root as soon as he sees his youngest brother's blonde head round the bend in the path they'd tried to flee on.  
  
"No! You did!" Rúmil scoffs, ducking some as well as Haldir silently moved to turn, sitting with his back against their sturdy shelter.  
  
"Fibber. I did not."  
  
"Did too."  
  
"What!? When?" He insists quietly.   
  
Rúmil leans towards him after taking another quick look at the path, before whispering: "You were drunk on the - - you stole from Lord Haithil, remember?" He giggles, "Orophin caught us, and you swore he could come with us this summer if he didn't nark you out."  
  
"What? Oh, I remember. Elbereth, that was at the Spring Festival! He remembers that!?"  
  
"Apparently."  
  
Haldir makes a sour face and punches Rúmil straight in the arm. "Why did you let me do that?" He insists, watching Rúmil flinch and rub his arm, squawking his protest to the abuse. "Shhh!"  
  
"Don't punch me! You'd already done it before I could walk up to stop you." The fairer of the two informs him with a hiss, raising up slightly to see where Orophin was. "Shh...here he comes...No! I think he saw me!" Rúmil drops like a leaf silently, turning to sit beside Haldir, the both of them going very still as they listened to Orophin's steps on the path near to them. The look of dread was apparent in their eyes when the steps stopped.  
  
"I saw you, Rúmil."   
  
Damn it all!  
  
"Delos!" Haldir hisses loud enough for only Rúmil to hear, flinching over the fact that they'd been found. It wasn't that they didn't love their little brother...it was just that...well. He was their little brother, and the last thing they wanted to do was have to take him to the swimming pond with them. It was unacceptable. With that thought, a quick elbow was dealt to Rúmil's ribs for getting them caught.  
  
"Ow!" He howls, shoving Haldir off balance slightly as the elf was trying to stand up to face the monster they'd been running from.  
  
"Why are you all hiding from me?" Orophin asks from their left side, having walked around the tree to look down at them from the incline he stood on. He wasn't as naive as they liked to think he was. He knew they were trying to shake him. However, he was old enough to easily follow their hurried trail.  
  
"We weren't hiding, 'Phin." Haldir sighs, righting himself as he lifted his bag to his shoulder, and gave a slight toss of his head to shake his hair back from his face. Despite the effort, however, a hand was raised to promptly assist when the first attempt had been futile.  
  
Rúmil still knelt where he'd been sitting, a knee propped on his bag as he watched his brothers quietly. Though, at Haldir's example, he decided to speak. "Right. We weren't hiding. Merely playing with you." He assures him with a little laugh.  
  
"Of course! But we do have to be going now. Looks like you forgot your bag at home though. Hmm." Haldir rubs his chin as he pretends to be thinking on it, his brows furrowed. It did appear, for all intents and purposes, that Orophin was bag-less. Pity. "Pity." He sighs finally, echoing his thoughts with a shake of his platinum head, "It's too far to go back home and get now. I guess you'll just have to come with us next year."  
  
"Pity indeed. You wouldn't like it anyway. A bunch of older elves and monotonous banter, very boring to be around." Rúmil sighs dreadfully, raising gracefully to stand beside Haldir.  
  
Orophin regards them both quietly, folding his arms over his chest as a fine dark eyebrow arches sharply over his left eye. It was a trait all the brothers were skilled at, though, Haldir seemed to be the master of eyebrow arching. There was none so fine and sharp as his. Orophin often found himself mocking his eldest brother's mannerisms unintentionally. Now would be one of those times.  
  
"I may be 15 years your younger but, I'm no slow elf." He informs them both, raising his chin in a haughty manner, his nose finding an easy place in the air.  
  
This seemed to tickle Rúmil quite a bit, as he gripped Haldir's upper arm suddenly, leaning forward to laugh. "Little Haldir is no slow elf." He mocks, his voice trembling in his amusement.  
  
"At least he knows which brother to copy." Haldir hisses, nudging Rúmil off of him with his hip. Their middle sibling was incorrigible. Of course, everyone else would say that about him. Rúmil grins, still trying to stifle his laughter as he reaches out to brace a hand on the large root of the Mallorn to hold his balance.  
  
"If I had my bag, I could go?" Orophin asks, ignoring their lucid banter. The thin blonde shifts his weight from one foot to the other, smiling inwardly at his brother's ignorance.  
  
"If you had your bag, yes, then you could go." Haldir agrees, positive that he didn't have his bag anyway.  
  
Orophin nods, and shifts his gaze to the other one, eyebrows raised in question. "Rúmil?"  
  
"If you had your bag. Alas, things don't seem to work out the way we hope." Rúmil answers.  
  
The smile that graced Orophin's face then was completely unexpected, and the two eldest brothers looked at each other; puzzled expression meeting puzzled expression. Somehow, somewhere, Haldir was positive they'd made a mistake in agreeing to this.  
  
"Great! Let's go then. We want to get there before evening, don't we?" Orophin asks, reaching around the trunk of the tree he still stood besides, and slinging his hidden bag over his shoulder.  
  
"You sneaky -" Rúmil starts, but the smile that found his face stopped the rest of the sentence from falling from his lips. It was all right, because Haldir finished for him.  
  
"- conspiring, troll!" Haldir chuckles as Orophin smiles at them sheepishly, offering a shrug of his shoulder.  
  
"He did learn from the best." Rúmil sighs, "It's our own fault." Haldir grins and nods, clapping a hand on Rúmil's shoulder before trudging up the hill to Orophin.  
  
"At least we know you weren't fostered..." Haldir tells him, bracing his arm for the punch Orophin plants there. Rúmil laughs, punching his other arm as they start off down the trail.  
  
And so began their first adventure as a united trio. Valar help the Lothlórien swimming pond.  
  
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TBC - Feedback? I would love it!  
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End file.
